The Dark Side of the Road

Ishmael Jones Mystery Series, Book 1

By: Simon R. Green

Narrated by: Gildart Jackson

Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

Ishmael Jones is someone who can't afford to be noticed, someone who lives under the radar, who drives on the dark side of the road. He's employed to search out secrets, investigate mysteries and shine a light in dark places. Sometimes he kills people.

Invited by his employer, the enigmatic Colonel, to join him and his family for Christmas, Ishmael arrives at the grand but isolated Belcourt Manor in the midst of a blizzard to find that the Colonel has mysteriously disappeared. As he questions his fellow guests, Ishmael concludes that at least one of them - not least Ishmael himself - is harboring a dangerous secret, and that beneath the veneer of festive cheer lurk passion, jealousy, resentment and betrayal.

As a storm sets in, sealing off the Manor from the rest of the world, Ishmael must unmask a ruthless murderer before they strike again.

©2015 Simon R. Green (P)2018 Tantor

Couldn’t put it down

Yet another cracker from Simon R Green. He hasn’t written a book yet that I don’t love love love. Moving straight on to book 2.

My stepson told me about this series....

My stepson is a night owl, and loves to read. He doesn't have as much time when he is working, so he devours reading when visiting during his vacation time. He told me about this series and said I would really like it. "It is like a cross between X-files, Men in Black, sprinkled with British humor". So, I looked it up in Audible, and decided to try the first book. This is absolutely wonderful for an "over-the-top sci-fi crazy person" like me. I love it! (I DO love a good British accent.) And this is just the beginning...
By the way, he finished reading (he doesn't do audio-books) the entire series within a week, and said you really need to keep going. So I am!
"Call me Ishmael Jones..."

Not my genre

however it was done very well and I enjoyed listening to this book. I am surprised.

Woefully Underrated

This series is by no means perfect, but as I occasionally enjoy lighter fare while performing other activities, it serves the purpose of entertaining and bringing joy to my brain. Green isn't reinventing the wheel. He's relying on long established tropes. But, as I happen to adore Clue (film) and Sherlock Holmes, I don't mind this at all. I find this series to be far better than Dresden or The Iron Druid Chronicles (to which Green's many books seem to draw constant comparison) where the obvious perfections of the main character distract me from the plot. This isn't to say that Jones isn't egotistical, it just suits him better. He's also very flawed.

I binged the first book in one evening, and the second and third books over four evenings and am sad there are no more on Audible as of this writing. But, I've moved on to another of Green's series (Secret Histories) and am enjoying that too. I've described this to friends as, "The Scooby-Doo of adult paranormal mystery." If that's something you think you might enjoy, absolutely listen to this. Gildart Jackson does a tremendous job narrating.

it's like a movie

just turn your brain off and enjoy. not spectacular. but enjoyable. characters adte flat. not surprises.

Not as good as the others

There are some serious pacing issues with this book. I almost had to skip forward during an interlude between action sequences, he was just repeating the same plot device over and over again, trying to make it a more character driven story, despite the purpose of that device already having been served.

An interesting plot, enhanced in no small way

An interesting plot, enhanced in no small way by the superb narration of Gildart Jackson. A lively and entertaining tale with a Dr. Who type of twist as you discover the main character and the villains are all aliens. Might not have finished this one without the help of Gildart Jackson. Despite the narration this one didn't quite make it into the top tier in my library, mainly because of the sci-fi content..

Liked it

I often don’t care for books with accents - good reader / good story .
I recommend to all, it’s quite enjoyable.

Dark but fun

A bit twisting, and lots of misdirection. I definitely didn’t see the ending coming. I enjoyed it.

Turned into a slasher horror novel

I thought this book was going to be a typical British murder mystery, but it turned out shockingly gory and violent and very much full of fantasy creatures. I actually felt ill in a few parts of the book. I thought the “hero” wasn’t very heroic and allowed almost everyone to die when he could have saved them. It’s sad, because I wanted to like him. The writing was pretty good though, and the narration was excellent. The vampire voice of the undead sent a chill through me. Great performance. I finished the book; for some reason I was grossed out but couldn’t stop. And I’m oddly curious about the next book in the series, but also kind of afraid to tackle it...